Artist Statement
Budden’s work looks to challenge the tensions between the female inner voice and the historical and social dialogues that frame the value and objectification of the female form. Each painting investigates the complexities of spectatorship and voyeuristic exploits within both cinematic practices and the traditions of figurative painting.
Whilst some works are autobiographical, others are purely observational. In this exploration into the duality of the self and the protagonist, the audience’s relationship to the female form is undetermined. The interplay between the known and the unknown threatens the direction of objective gaze. A critical lens is deployed to explore and revisit the trope of the muse through twisting perception and representing a sense of unease. Though its abjection and unfamiliarity, the female body claims back its agency. For when the body is no longer seen as an aesthetic whole its autonomy is protected. The spectator is given a symbolic cold shoulder.
These ambiguous facades sit within illusionist arched portals to empower the observed to become the observer. Ultimately, the work focuses on control and the understanding of who in the conversation is truly in possession of it. It is the power dynamic between sitter, artist, and audience that is under scrutiny.
Bio / CV
Scarlett Budden (b. 1998 London, United Kingdom) is a British figurative painter working in London. Her works focus on the complexities of spectatorship within the traditions of both painting and cinema.
She completed her BA Hons (First Class) in Fine Art at Newcastle University in 2022. Recently, she completed her MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art. She is currently a resident at Studio West Arts and has exhibited both in the UK and internationally.
(upcoming) April 2025 – ‘Paradise Lost’, Art on a Postcard, London UK
(upcoming) January-February 2025 – ‘South Open 3’, OHSH Projects, London UK
November-December 2024 – ‘Stemming from Unwelt’, Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing China
June 2024 – RCA MA Painting Show, RCA Battersea, London UK
April 2024 – ‘Beauty in Chaos’, Hew Hood Gallery, London UK
February 2024 – ‘Body Songs’, Fitzrovia Gallery, London UK
July 2022 – Newcastle Graduate Show, The Copeland Gallery, London UK
June 2022 – Newcastle Graduate Show, The Hatton Gallery, Newcastle UK
July-August 2019 – Charles Cecil Studios Sight-Size Drawing Residency, Florence Italy
Contact
+44 772 597 8970
scarlett.budden@sky.com